Mirosława Rejman
Class 7
Elementary School in Gadka
Mirzec commune
15 November 1946
My most memorable moment from the occupation
The most terrible and unforgettable moment in my life was 1939. I was six, but I remember everything perfectly. I lived with my parents in Zagnańsk, or rather with my mum, because my daddy was in the army. In the morning, when the day was starting, and the fog, its helper, was loosening its spidery veil, the silhouettes of running people loomed. People trying to escape the German planes that were destroying everything fled to the forest and shelters. The crying of children, the prolonged howling of sirens, and the roar of exploding bombs – it all combined into one huge fear. Burning houses, the corpses of relatives or friends – [this sight] pierced human hearts with pain and terror. The forest was the only shelter for us and them. The green of the forest with the beautiful nature gave people more encouragement and perseverance. Air raids, interrupted only at night, lasted a dozen days, and then the enemy troops entered. The bombing stopped, but the harassed and sick people began to be plagued by robberies and abused by German criminals. New tears dampened formerly free Polish land. With my mum I was under a German rifle, soaked with more than one Polish blood. The enemy took us to the forest to kill us for my daddy’s serving in the Polish army in defense of the homeland. However our requests, coupled with human [reflexes], melted his icy heart and he let us go alive. A few months later, the most painful blow happened to me – the death took my mummy, and all this because of these cruel and merciless Nazis. That is why a greater hatred grew in my soul towards these tormentors. The German nation is disgraced and condemned. Every Pole hates them and hungers for vengeance.